Are we being too self-conscious as Canadians, or should we take this seriously? For those who prefer print to video, David Akin has the full transcript.
Update Not three minutes after this post went up, the following email arrived from the Prime Minister's Office noting that the U.S. President, when in front of the cameras with the Prime Minister, gave him a ringing endorsement:
Obama: "I want to again publicly thank P rime Minister Harper for being an outstanding partner to the United States. We appreciate his excellent work, we very much appreciate the Canadian people and we're looking forward to seeing them next week in both the United Nations context and the G20."
Some snub.
The PMO also points out that Gordon Brown was treated similarly in March.
Another update The good foks at Politico provide some clarity on just who it was that greeted the Prime Minister this morning:
White House protocol chief Capricia Marshall wasn't at the West Wing to greet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday, due to her participation a meeting to meet a "congressionally mandated reporting requirement," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. "Her deputy filled in," Vietor explained. "This happens all the time."
Third update Conservative blogger Stephen Taylor points out that Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamid Karzai, Nouri al Maliki and other world leaders were snubbed in the same fashion .